Armor plate



Oct- 19, 1943 G. J. PlssAREvsKY 2,332,464

ARMOR PLATE Filed July 24, 1939 Patented Oct. 19, 1943 UNITED STATESPATENT iOFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates generally to armament structure and moreparticularly to a wall structure primarily designed for use asprotective armament.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an armamentstructure which is so designed and constructed that it will berelatively light and at the same time will be' extremely resistant toprojectiles.

While the armament structures herein illustrated and described areparticularly designed as wall structures for armored cars, tanks, andsimilar armored structures where lightness in weight is essential, itwill be readily appreciated that the novel structure readily lendsitself to use in bomb-proof shelters and other similar structures Wherelight Weight, simple, and easily fabricated armament structures aredesired.

One of the objects of the present invention consists in the provision ofan armament Wall structure in which the Wallis formed of tWo spacedseparate Walls of armament plate and which is so constructed andarranged that the inner wall member of armor plate may be rigidlysecured to the structure to which the armament is applied while theouter wall member is resiliently mounted with respect to the inner Wallin order to render the structure as a Whole more resistant toprojectiles.

Still further, the present invention contemplates the provision of anarmor plate structure in which two separate walls of armor plate areprovided and in which the outer Wall is constructed of a plurality ofpreformed plates which are so formed and arranged that no portion of theouter wall structure is arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of theinner wall structure thereby making possible the substantial reductionin thickness of the armor plate used, thereby reducing weight, cost, andexpense without at the same time reducing the resistance of the wallstructure to the penetration of projectiles.

Yet another object of the present invention consists in the provision ofa construction in which the wall structure comprises a pair of walls orarmor plate so constructed and arranged that no portion of one Wall isparallel to any portion of the other Wall and which includes a body ofresilient material such for example as sponge rubber interposed betweenthe two wall structures in such a way as to mount the outer wallstructure resiliently with respect to the inner Wall and resilientlywith respect to the body to which the structure as a Whole is attached.

Still further, the present invention contemplates the provision of anarmor plate construction comprising an armor plate inner Wall structureand an armor plate outer Wall structure in which the outer armor platewall structure is composed of a plurality of separate, individuallymounted plates arranged in overlapping relation in such a way that eachplate is not only resiliently mounted but in which each plate making upthe outer Wall structure is mounted in such a way that it is tiltable orinclinable independently of the remaining plates.

Many other and further objects, advantages, and features of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a parthereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary, elevational View of a portion of a Wallstructure embodying the improvements of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, transverse, sectional View taken substantiallyalong the line 2 2 of Figure 1 illustrating in detail the constructionand arrangement of parts making up the improved wall structure.

Figure 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially along theline 3 3 of Figure 1 further illustrating the interior construction andarrangement of parts of the improved Wall structure.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the individual plates used tomake up the outer surface of the improved Wall structure.

With more particular reference to the drawing, it will be readilyappreciated that the specic embodiment `vof the invention illustratedtherein is merely illustrative of one form which the invention may take.It will also be readily appreciated that the specific embodiment of theinvention disclosed in the drawing has not been illustrated or describedas used in connection With any particular article of manufacture becauseof the Wide and varied number of uses and installations Where theinvention will be found practicable.

The wall structure disclosed in the drawing comprises a base wall 5which may comprise a single sheet of steel normalized in the usualmanner in order to provide a maximum resistance to penetration byprojectiles. The outer wall surface comprises a plurality of plates Swhich may be made of conical or pyramidal form as shown, each marginaledge of each plate having a projecting ange 'l adapted to lie smoothlyin overlapping relation With the next adjacent plate as clearly seen inFigures 2 and 3.

Interposed between the inner Wall 5 and the outer Wall members 5 is amass of resilient ma.. terial which more or less serves to maintain theplates 6 making up the outer Wall structure in resiliently spacedrelation With respect to the inner Wall structure. Each of the plates 6is anchored in position by any suitable means and in the form of theinvention shown this means comprises a bolt 8 having a universallyjointed connection 9 serving to anchor one end of the bolt to the innersurface of one of the plates 6. This bolt 8 may extend through asuitable aperture in the inner Wall member 6 and be anchored in positionby means of suitable nuts lil. The universal jointed connectionv 9provides a construction Which permits tilting of the plate 6 to alimited extent in any direction. The purpose and function of thisconstruction Will become more readily apparent as the description of theinvention proceeds.

It will be apparent that the above described construction will providean outer wall surface of armor plate comprising a plurality ofindividually tiltable pyramidal structures resiliently mounted in spacedrelation with respect to an inner wall member.

The above described construction is particularly advantageous for thefollowing reasons. In the first place, it will be noted that the Wallstructure as a Whole is highly resistant to penetration byprojectilesbecause there is no portion of the pyramidal outer wallstructure disposed in parallel relation With respect to the inner Wallstructures. As a result of this, it will be apparent that in the even aprojectile strikes the outer Wall surface 6 While traveling in adirection substantially perpendicular thereto, it is absolutely inherentthat in the event such a projectile penetrates the outer Wall surface,it will strike the inner Wall surface 5 at a very substantial angle thusgreatly reducing the likelihood of its penetrating through the Wallstructure as a Whole.

Further, it Will be appreciated that the resilient mounting of theplates making up the outer Wall surface greatly increases theirresistance to penetration. Still further, this resistance to penetrationis increased by the fact that the plates making up the outer Wallsurface are no only resiliently mounted but are individually tilted withrespect to each other thus providing a construction which is simple andeconomical to manufacture, but which at the same time is highlyresistant to penetration.

The primary advantages of the above described construction reside in thefact that armor plate of extreme light weight may be used and at thesame time obtain a maximum resistance to penetration.

It Will be readily appreciated that the above described construction maybe very substantially modified without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined in the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. An armor plate Wall structure comprising an inner armor plate wallmember and an outer armor plate wall structure spaced from said innermember, said outer wall structure comprising a plurality of separateindividually mounted plates of generallypyramidal form arranged inoverlapping relation, each of said plates being individually mountedwith respect to the others and resilient means for mounting said outerWall structure with respect to said inner Wall to maintain the same-inresiliently spaced relation with respect thereto, the surfaces of saidplates lying in planes substantially inclined to the plane of said innerWallvmember.

2. An armor plate Wall structure comprising an inner armor plate wallmember and an outer armor plate wall structure spaced from said innermember, said outer Wall structure comprising a plurality of separateindividually mounted plates of generally pyramidal form arranged inoverlapping relation, each of said plates being individually mountedWith respect to the others, and means for mounting the plates of saidouter Wall structure for universal movement, the surfaces of said plateslying in planes substantially inclined to the plane of said inner Wallmember.

3. An armor plate `Wall structure comprising an inner armor plate Wallmember and an outer armor plate Wall structure spaced from said innermember, said` outer Wall structure comprising a plurality of separateindividually mounted plates of generally pyramidal form arranged inoverlapping relation, each of said plates being individually mountedWith respect to the others, means for resiliently mounting said plateswith respect to said inner Wall member and means for permitting tiltingmovement of said plates, the surfaces of said plates lying in planessubstantially inclined to the plane of said inner Wall member.

GREGCRY JOSEPH PISSAREVSKY.

